WorldWide Drilling Resource

34 FEBRUARY 2018 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® New Use for Abandoned Coal Mines in the U.K. Adapted from Information by Durham University and Mijnwater B.V. In the U.K., a team of researchers at Durham University believes their idea can help decarbonize heat by using old flooded mines. Dr. Charlotte Adams, assistant professor in the Department of Geography; and Durham Energy Institute Executive Director, Professor Jon Gluyas think the country’s abandoned deep mines could provide a good geothermal resource for its surrounding areas. Although fossil fuels currently produce the bulk of the country’s electricity and heat, renewable energy provides around 25% of produced electricity. With the government’s fifth carbon budget stating 1 in 20 homes should be connected to a heat network by 2030, looking at unconventional methods to meet this ambitious challenge was necessary. The country has all but eliminated coal production from deep mining and even celebrated its first coal-free day of power generation last year. The abandoned deep coal mines around the country became filled with groundwater. Now these net- works of galleries and shafts several hundred feet below the surface are filled with water, which is heated through the natural geothermal process to a consistent temperature around 60ºF (16ºC). It isn’t quite hot enough to produce power, but it does have the potential to provide heat for around 650,000 homes in the country. Since many U.K. towns and cities came into existence when the coal mines were active, they are in close proximity to the low-temperature water. This makes them ideal candidates for utilizing the geothermal water to provide renewable, low- cost heating and cooling. A heat pump would essentially take energy from the water within abandoned mines, raise it to a more useful temperature, then dis- tribute it to consumers through a heat network. There are similar projects around the world which have been successful. One early example was developed at the Ropak packaging plant in Springhill, Nova Scotia, in 1998. This heat pump system uses minewater with temperatures around 65ºF (18°C) to provide heating and cooling for a 14,500-square-foot site leading to huge savings in avoided fuel oil costs. Another project in the Netherlands has been operating since 2008, and is much larger, supplying heat to more than 5.3 million square feet of commercial and residential buildings. The water collect- ed from five wells, is transported via an underground exchange station and pipe network, and is currently supplied to several locations in Heerlen and the surrounding area. Could this be the answer to recy- cling the coal mines of the past, into a renewable resource of the future? Only time will tell. Mijnwater project installation photo courtesy of Mijnwater B.V. Groundwater Week 2017 Dealmakers Send your deals to: michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com Noland Drilling Equipment Reggie and Virgil with Noland Drilling Equipment of Roanoke, Virginia, were pleased to stand with the couple from Yadkin Well Company, Inc. of Hamptonville, North Carolina, and their new Hunke pump hoist. Eijkelkamp/ SonicSampDrill Gregg Drilling & Testing of California, purchased this Fraste rig from Eijkelkamp North America, Inc. located in Morrisville, North Carolina. Barry (R) of Pulstar Mfg. of Dodge, Nebraska, congratulated Gary and Mike from Justice Well Drilling, Inc. of Marion, North Carolina, on their new pump hoist. Pulstar Mfg./Preferred Pump & Equipment The Swearingen family with AAA Well Drilling & Repair of Lexington, South Carolina, was proud to show their pump hoist with Barry. April Issue Deadlines! Space Reservation: February 25 th Display & Classified Ad Copy: March 1 st